


JLA/Titans: Origins

by Peonywinx



Series: Tales of Diamond Earth [1]
Category: DC Animated Universe (Timmverse), DCU, DCU (Comics), Justice League & Justice League Unlimited (Cartoons), Justice League - All Media Types, Teen Titans (Animated Series), Teen Titans (Comics)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Gen, Multiple Crossovers, Superheroes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-07
Updated: 2020-08-09
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:53:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25762423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Peonywinx/pseuds/Peonywinx
Summary: In a quiet corner of the multiverse resides a unique Earth known as Diamond Earth. On this Earth, the First Age of Heroes, led by the Justice Society, ended in the early 1980s. Twenty years later, the year 2000 ushers in not only the new millennium, but also the rise of the next generation of heroes - a collection of individuals bound together by a galactic menace, threads of destiny, and the desire to be heroes.
Series: Tales of Diamond Earth [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1868935





	1. Prologue: New Year

**Author's Note:**

> Diamond Earth is the name I have given to the DC universe which I have modified to suit me. I call it Diamond Earth because a diamond has four sides, and I have incorporated elements from four different mediums - cartoon, comic, movie, and TV - to create it. Diamond Earth will be the setting of many stories in multiple DC-related fandoms; this is but the first.

New Year’s Eve, 1999. The end of a millennium. The beginning of a new age. The dawn of an era marked by the rise of the second generation of superheroes, the likes of which have not been seen since the disbanding of the Justice Society in 1977.

As millions of people over the world celebrate the turn of a thousand years, others make it their duty to ensure that nothing mars this historic day.

In Metropolis, reporter Clark Kent is onsite at a massive turn of millennium ceremony, covering the event with colleagues Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. Under his casual clothes lies the costume, marked by the iconic S, that is always ready to be worn when it’s needed.

In Gotham, a caped crusader watches over the city, keeping a sharp eye out for crime with a younger female at his side. Mysteriously, billionaire playboy Bruce Wayne excused himself from a social event not two hours earlier, and university student Barbara Gordon is missing from her dorm.

In Central City, a red blur zips past everyone and everything as it chases easily after a thief’s getaway car. People barely have time to say the Flash’s name before he’s apprehending the crook and flashing a winning smile at the camera.

None of them knows that on the stroke of the new year, and the new millennium, everything will change.

* * *

There was only one word to describe the scene: cacophony. The whole Metropolis City Square was filled with laughter and the noise of hundreds of voices talking over each other; and everywhere Clark looked, there were people dressed up brightly, dancing and singing loudly to the tunes blaring from the huge bass speakers in front of the stage. Clark noticed that a favorite of the DJ seemed to be a rocked up version of ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

“Awesome turnout, isn’t it?” Jimmy yelled over the racket as he snapped yet another photo of the milling crowd.

“You don’t say,” Clark agreed. “Back in Smallville, everyone’s just gathered around a bonfire waiting for midnight.”

“Speaking of midnight,” Lois shouted, “it’s nearly time. Let’s get closer to the stage to catch the countdown.”

“Oh, yeah!” Jimmy agreed excitedly.

Clark was less than willing. “Do we have to? I don’t think my eardrums can take much more.”

Lois’ hand shot out to grab his arm. “Come on, don’t be such a farm boy.”

“I _am_ a farm boy,” Clark muttered; but he nevertheless followed her lead.

* * *

Gotham City was livelier than the young Batgirl had ever seen it. For once, the crime capital of the country was bright and even somewhat colorful despite the dark and shady undergrounds it still held.

“It’s amazing,” Batgirl breathed. “It’s like a new city.”

“Stay focused, Barbara,” Batman warned as they alighted on a rooftop. “Anyone could strike at any minute.”

“I know, I know,” Batgirl said. “But still…” she added, looking down at the brightly-lit City Hall, “it’s a little hard to resist the merriment. Don’t you wish you could be down there and take just one night off from crime?”

“I always do,” Batman replied. “But I’ve long since learned it’s an unrealistic dream. I do this up here” – he gestured to the rooftop they were on – “so other people can enjoy themselves down there without having to worry about getting robbed or defrauded or murdered.”

Batgirl sighed. “You know, this would be a lot more fun if Dick –”

“Dick made his choice. We have to respect that.”

“You do know he’s going to go if you don’t say anything, right?”

“Yes.”“And you’re not going to even try to convince him otherwise?” Batgirl was incredulous. “For heaven’s sake, Bruce – you know two words from you would stop him from leaving. Why won’t you –”

“Barbara,” Batman interrupted, “this is one time when we have to agree to disagree. Dick’s an adult now.”

“He’s seventeen! He doesn’t get to _be_ an adult for another three and a half months!”

“Regardless, he is capable of looking after himself,” Batman pointed out. “Age is just a number – you know that – and Dick is as much an adult as you are. Our lives are taking separate paths, and though I care for him, it’s time to let him go.”

“Yes, but not like this,” she objected. “Not this way. He wouldn’t even be going if it weren’t for –”

“I know.” The two simple words rang with firm finality as Batman took off for the next rooftop. 

* * *

“What a night,” Wally West remarked to himself as he changed out of his Flash costume back into civilian clothes. Checking to see that no one was around to see him, he then super-speeded to the house he’d been heading for before the thief caught his attention. Letting himself in with the key, he called, “Uncle Barry, I’m here.”

“Oh, hello, Wally,” his Aunt Iris greeted warmly. “Your uncle’s in the kitchen, scarfing down muffins like there’s no tomorrow.”

“Just another night, huh?” Wally grinned as he slipped into the kitchen. “Hey, Uncle Barry.”

“Wally!” Barry Allen greeted his nephew expansively. The second Flash and a former member of the old Justice Society, Barry had aged gracefully into a hale and hearty fifty-two-year-old with his sense of humor intact. “Just in time. Muffin?”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Wally hungrily munched one muffin, then a second, then a third.

“How’s the hero thing coming along?” Barry asked casually.

Wally shrugged. “Not too bad, I guess,” he said noncommittally. “People keep mistaking me for you, though.”

“That’s the price you pay for wearing the same uniform.” Barry wagged a finger in his face. “I told you that when you took it.”

“But it looks so cool! No offense to Jay Garrick or anything, but his costume was rather old-fashioned.”

“It was the 60s. _Everything_ was old-fashioned. Hell, _my_ outfit was considered futuristic.”

“But at least no one ever thought you were the original Flash,” Wally pointed out.

“A large part of that was due to the fact that everyone knew he’d died to save Earth,” Barry reminded him. “I didn’t join the Society until almost a year after his death. No one could have mistaken me for Jay.”

Wally nodded. “I always wanted to ask – was he the only one who died?”

Barry sighed. “No. We lost Black Canary in 1976 – radiation poisoning.”

Wally frowned. “But I’ve heard there’s a Black Canary in Star City.”

“She’s the daughter of the original Canary.”

Wally was surprised. “She is?”

“It’s the new generation, Wally,” Barry said. “Younger heroes are stepping up to take our place. Soon it’ll be your turn to make history.”

“Me? Make history?” Wally laughed. “I don’t think so, Uncle Barry. I’ve been the Flash for barely a year and a half.”

Barry only smiled, a knowing glint in his eyes. “Oh, you’d be surprised, Wally,” he said. “You’d be very surprised.”

* * *

“Three! Two! One!”

A shower of sparkles shot into the sky, followed immediately by vibrant fireworks that crackled and popped spiritedly as they marked the beginning of the millennium.

“Oh, they’re beautiful,” Lois breathed in awe, watching the lights dance in the sky.

“Yes, they are,” Clark agreed, slinging an arm around her shoulder.

* * *

As people in the States ushered in the year 2000, elsewhere, a large, pitted meteorite of metallic material crashed into a Mongolian desert, raising an almighty cloud of dust and sand that obscured the afternoon sun. Its coming cast a shadow on the entrance of the new millennium; some would say its very appearance on such an auspicious date had been predetermined by fate.

Regardless, the meteorite’s arrival would forever be remembered as the one single event which triggered the greatest crisis of the world to date, as well as the reemergence of the Age of Heroes.


	2. Chapter One: Generational Gap

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning: lots of time skips in this and the next several chapters. The first part of this story covers a fair length of time as all the pieces slowly come together, so I chose to write only relevant scenes.

“You don’t have to go.” 

“Sorry, Babs, but I do.”

It was a rainy morning at Wayne Manor. The steady patter of rain hitting the metal walls of the garage was highly noticeable as Barbara Gordon pleaded with her long-time friend and partner Dick Grayson.

“You know how Bruce is,” Barbara said. “He’s too damn stubborn to admit he was wrong.”

“He wasn’t wrong,” Dick disagreed as he zipped up his duffel bag and strapped it to his motorcycle. “He made the right decision for _him_ – it just wasn’t the right decision for me, too.”

“But –”

“Look, Barbara.” Dick crossed the room to talk to her. “Bruce and I, we’ve been together a long time. We’ve done a lot of good working together, but I’ve grown up now. I have to make my own choices, and I can’t do that if I’m staying here. I have to find my own way.”

“Can’t you find your own way in Gotham?”

Dick’s answering smile was wry. “You know me – and Bruce – better than that.”

Barbara sighed. “I can’t change your mind?”

“Not this time.”

“Okay, then.” Barbara threw her arms around him and hugged him fiercely. “Take care of yourself, Dick. Don’t get yourself killed or anything.”

Dick chuckled. “Always.” He kissed her tenderly on her forehead, then got on his motorcycle and drove away.

* * *

“You called?” Superman said as he landed next to Batman on the grassy knell. The Dark Knight looked out of place in the sunny Metropolis park, secluded though it was.

“Obviously.”

“What do you need?” Superman asked.

“I’m here to report, Clark. You heard about the meteorite that crashed in Mongolia last month, didn’t you?”

“Well, yeah. It was all over the news because it suddenly disappeared.” Superman narrowed his eyes as realization hit. “You know where it is, don’t you?”

“I have a hunch. I think it’s with Cadmus – or at least, Cadmus made it disappear.”

There was a short pause as Superman contemplated that.

“So it’s real, then?” the Man of Steel said finally.

“Cadmus? Yes,” Batman admitted. “What it is exactly, though, I still haven’t figured out.”

“But you have a theory, don’t you?”

“I have several. The most likely has it as an anti-superhero organization.”

“Anti-superhero…but why?” Superman questioned.

“The government doesn’t trust us, Clark. You know that.”

“That’s not true,” Superman protested. “The government supports what we do.”

“They may support us, but they don’t trust us,” Batman reiterated. “No matter how much good we do, we’re still an unexpected variable. Unpredictable. Unknown. They don’t understand us; they’re afraid we might turn against them one day.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Superman scoffed.

“Not really,” Batman disagreed. “It’s a reasonable fear. Imagine what you could do if you lost your sense of morality. Don’t look at me like that, Clark – you know it’s the truth. The world is full of cynics – and they feel the need to cover their bases and protect themselves in case we ever do go rogue.”

“And Cadmus is the organization to do that?”

“Probably. As far as I can tell, it’s been working operations since 1995 – which was about a year after you started hero activities.”

“So what do we do?” Superman queried.

“We do nothing. For now, anyway. At the moment, Cadmus is nothing more than a precautionary measure on the government’s part. Unless something changes, it won’t actually go against us until we become a threat.”

Superman nodded. Then he asked, “Bruce, how are you?”

Behind the cowl, Batman raised one eyebrow. 

“I know Dick left,” Superman explained. “It can’t be easy on you.”

“Change is an inevitable part of life. Dick’s grown up; he’s nearly an adult, he’s making his own decisions. I can’t make them for him anymore.”

“So you’re okay with him moving?”

“Doesn’t matter. He made his choice, and I respect it.”

“Bruce…” Superman sighed.

“I should be getting back.” Seconds later, Batman was gone.

* * *

The mugger sneered triumphantly at his victim – a young woman with mousy brown hair and terrified eyes – as he searched roughly in her dress pockets for her wallet. She was such a fearful figure he almost felt sorry that she’d been stupid enough to walk on her own at night in Jump City – almost.

“Tracy DeMarko,” he identified her from her driver’s license. “Nice name you’ve got…and I have to say” – his gaze traveled appreciatively down her long, lean body – “you’ve got a beautiful body too. Maybe you and I can have some fun before I leave, eh?” He leered at the girl; she whimpered pitifully in abject terror at the prospect of what he intended to do to her.

Help came in the form of a low, disembodied voice. “Not tonight.”

Before the mugger could so much as react, he was pushed headfirst into the wall by a dark-clothed figure. The only thing he was able to make out was a few lines of yellow trim on his attacker’s costume.

“Let me go!” he cried, struggling to get out of the assailant’s grip. He attempted to reach for his gun, but his opponent slammed him against the wall, making him see stars.

“I know a few people who would be very happy to see you,” the unknown person said. “And they’re all at the police station downtown.”

“Who are you?” the mugger demanded.

There was a slight pause before the response came.

“Call me Nightwing.”

* * *

Cadmus chairperson Amanda Waller’s tread was firm and purposeful as she walked to the docking bay of S.T.A.R. Labs

“Captain Faraday,” she greeted. “Congratulations on a successful mission. How was your trip to Mars?”

“Eventful,” the veteran captain replied. “You received our transmission?”

“I did.” Waller pursed her lips, watching four members of Cadmus lead away a captive, dejected-looking green alien. “The Martian – was it difficult to trap?”

“Notoriously so, ma'am,” Faraday admitted. “It’s got a wide range of supernatural abilities – it’s stronger, faster, and more durable than humans, and it can shapeshift and pass through solid objects. It also appears to be able to read our minds. Once we lit up the flares, though, it became docile enough.”

“It’s vulnerable to fire?” Waller inquired.

“Apparently so.”

“There was no other species on Mars?”

“Not that we saw – but we only visited a small part of the planet. For all we know there’s hundreds more of those creatures.”

Waller nodded. “Johnson!” she barked at a passing laboratory assistant. “Tell Dr. Hammond to cryogenically freeze the Martian and begin studies on it at once. I want to know everything about that alien in as little time as possible.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the assistant replied before scooting off.

“Have you got any new leads on the meteorite?” Faraday inquired conversationally as they walked through the corridor.

“Not yet,” Waller replied. “We’ve got our best scientists working on it, though.”

“You’re pushing them too hard, Amanda. First the meteorite, then the Nightwing investigation, now the Martian…”

“I can’t afford to be a wishy-washy director, Faraday. New superheroes and metahumans seem to appear everyday. It’s Cadmus’ job to stay one step ahead of them.”

“Have you ever considered the possibility that superheroes are a force for good? They help people.”

“I’m not saying they don’t. But you’ve seen what they’re capable of firsthand, King. Have you ever considered what could happen if they go rogue?”

* * *

Kent Nelson frowned as his scrying revealed something disturbing. Muttering an incantation under his breath to clear up the view, he looked closer at his screen. 

The normally plain glass of the scrying mirror had darkened into a misty, charcoal cloud of gray. The dark fog, shot through with streaks of glowing yellow energy, roiled and moved languidly, until it parted just enough to reveal a pair of baleful, ugly eyes that shone with inhuman power. 

Ordinary men would likely have reacted negatively to such a fearsome vision, but Kent Nelson was not an ordinary man. First of all, he was at least sixty-five years of age – possibly older – but he appeared to be not a day over thirty. Secondly, he was the apprentice of the Egyptian wizard Nabu, and had thus been granted certain mystical powers. Thirdly, he lived in an invisible tower in Salem, Massachusetts. Fourth, and most importantly, he was the alter ego of the superhero Doctor Fate, former founding member of the Justice Society. He was used to apocalyptic visions.

So it was that when the image faded, Kent simply set the mirror down, left the pocket dimension where he did all his scrying and meditating, and returned to the real world, where his wife was waiting for him.

“Inza, my love,” Kent said, “We have a new problem.”


	3. Chapter Two: Things Are Stirring

“You have _got_ to be kidding me,” Flash groaned. “ _You_? _Here_?”

“Hello, Flashie.” The Joker cackled madly. “And of course I’m kidding you. Joking is what I do best.”

“Why aren’t you in Gotham?” Flash demanded, watching the insane villain closely.

“Tut, tut,” Joker said disapprovingly. “Is that how you treat an old friend?”

“I helped Batman put you away _once_ , and _only_ once. That hardly makes us old friends, but whatever. Guess I have to do it again.” Flash shot towards Joker, but the clown simply vanished. “Hey, where’d you –”

A sudden, unexpected blow to the back of his head cut off his sentence and made him see stars.

“Whoopsie-daisy.” Joker giggled hysterically. “Did I forget to mention that I’m a master of illusion? No? My bad.” He grinned evilly and detonated three exploding marbles. Flash was unable to dodge in time due to his disorientation, and the force of the blast sent him flying into a building.

“I wonder…” Joker looked contemplative. “What would dear old Bats say if I eliminated one of his little superhero friends?” There was an insane grin on his face as he advanced on the injured Flash. “That would make him mad, wouldn’t it?”

Before he could get more than five feet closer, a heavy mace came hurtling from the sky. The Arkham inmate was barely able to shield himself with a fortified canopy from his pocket before the weapon crashed into him, knocking him flat.

“Oof,” he complained, completely winded, yet still grinning like a lunatic. “Some other time, then.” With a final mad giggle, Joker was gone in a flash of light.

When the bright haze dissipated, Flash saw the mace returning of its own accord to the ready hand of one of his best friends.

“You okay?” Hawkgirl inquired as she helped him up.

“Yeah.” Flash grimaced as he moved his neck. “Although I’m going to have some spectacular bruises tomorrow. Thanks for the save. I don’t particularly fancy becoming one of Joker’s dead tricks.”

“What was the Joker doing here, anyway?” Hawkgirl wondered. “He usually never ventures far from Gotham – he’s too fond of playing with Batman for that.”

“I have no idea. But you can bet Batman will find out.”

* * *

“…and that is exactly why you should vote for me.” The clear, strong voice of Star City’s mayoral candidate Oliver Queen rang out across the square. “It’s a new millennium, people – and it calls for changes. Our country did not get where it is today without making some ripples in the existing community – and neither can we move forward to the best of our ability if we keep playing the safe card. I’m dedicated to making the necessary changes to make our city a better place, and I have every confidence that with your support, we can be an example for others. Thank you.”

Oliver Queen stepped down from the podium to a smattering of applause to allow the other candidate to make his campaign speech. When he returned to his seat, his wife of two months, Dinah Lance, kissed him on the cheek.

“Inspired speech, Ollie,” she commended him.

“Let’s see if it works this time.”

Out of the corner of her eye, Dinah noticed a shifty-looking man edging his way through the crowd.

“Ollie,” she said. “Mind if I excuse myself for a moment?”

Oliver looked to where her gaze was, his expression turning wry. “Yeah, go ahead.”

Dinah smiled and vanished. Oliver knew that in mere minutes she would have donned her blonde wig and dark blue costume and would be chasing after the suspect.

She was his Black Canary, after all.

* * *

Batman frowned as he observed a red blur dart in and out of the darkened streets of Gotham. He knew who that was. 

Batman waited a few seconds for the blur to stop, then dropped down behind him.

“Looking for me?”

The red-clad figure in front of him jumped at least two feet in the air with a startled yelp.

“Jeez, Batman, are you _trying_ to give me a heart attack?”

“What do you want, Flash?” Batman asked, ignoring the speedster’s question.

“I just wanted to ask you when the Joker escaped,” Flash said. “Last I heard, he was still locked up tight in Arkham since we put him away last year.”

“How did you hear about that?” Batman demanded, eyes narrowing. The Flash was one of the few superheroes currently active whose true identity was not yet known to him. That made Batman very cautious. He’d worked with Flash once or twice, and found him trustworthy despite his playful nature – but until he knew for certain who he was, Batman’s paranoia would not allow him to let his guard down even for a second.

“Well, he showed up in Central City this morning…”

“Joker was in Central?” Batman’s eyes narrowed further.

“Yeah…he was just as crazy as ever, going on and on about how his killing me would irritate you. I don’t know why – it’s not like you and I are particularly close or anything – but I probably would be in a hospital – or a morgue – right now if Hawkgirl hadn’t shown up to help.”

By now Batman’s eyes were little more than slits in his cowl. Hawkgirl was another of those unknown superheroes; as far as he had been able to find out, she was an alien from a distant planet called Thanagar who had somehow unintentionally ended up on Earth.

“You and Hawkgirl were fighting the Joker in Central City?” he asked, though it didn’t sound like a question.

“Well, it wasn’t much of a fight – Joker disappeared like fifteen seconds after she showed up.”

“Why was he in Central City?”

Flash shrugged. “Search me. I was kinda hoping you could tell me.”

“Joker escaped Arkham two weeks ago,” Batman informed him. “For at least one of those two, according to Commissioner Gordon, he was making trouble here, but I never saw him. He appears to have grown stealthier…”

“How stealthy can an insane guy with green hair and white skin be? He’ll show up somewhere eventually.”

“Don’t underestimate Joker,” Batman warned. “Doing so will only get you killed.”

“I hear you,” agreed Flash. “Listen, I’ve gotta get back to Central – I’ll let you know if I see him again.”

Batman nodded, and Flash sped off.

* * *

Nightwing was out again, patrolling the streets of Jump City the way he used to do it with Batman in Gotham. After six months of fighting crime in his new city, the people of Jump had come to recognize him as their protector – the civilians, that is. He wasn’t as yet on very good terms with the official authorities, but at least he wasn’t feuding with them like Batman was with the GCPD. 

Then again, Jump City’s police force wasn’t as corrupt as Gotham’s.

As far as crime went, though, Jump City was considered one of the top ten dangerous cities in the U.S.A., even if it wasn’t quite as criminal as Gotham. That was one of the reasons Dick had chosen to move here after separating from Batman – he knew he could make a difference in the city.

A sudden movement caught his attention. Behind his domino mask, Nightwing frowned. Without hesitation, he leapt down from the roof and landed with an audible thud behind a would-be burglar just as he was attempting to pry open the window of a toy store.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you not to take things that don’t belong to you?”

The burglar turned with wide eyes. “You!” he exclaimed.

“Yes,” Nightwing agreed calmly. “Me.”

The burglar whipped out a knife. “Don’t interfere,” he warned, a dangerous glint in his eyes. “You have no idea what you’re messing with.”

“Don’t be stupid,” Nightwing scoffed. “Why don’t you put that away, and let’s talk like civilized people.”

“Talk?” The other man snorted derisively. “I have nothing to say to someone who goes around the city at night in a stupid costume. I’ve lost everything – _everything_ – and now that I have a chance to get my life back, I’m not letting anything get in my way!”

“Stealing toys is going to help you?”

At this the burglar actually laughed. “Not toys, boy. _Weapons_. Toys can be _lethal_ when utilized properly. And my employer will pay me handsomely for weapons that look innocent.”

Nightwing frowned. That didn’t sound right. “Employer?” he questioned. “What are you talking about?”

Instead of answering, the burglar lashed out with the knife; Nightwing automatically leaned backwards to avoid the blade with an ease born of years of experience. He grabbed the man’s hand and disarmed him in one quick twist of his arm. Then he yanked him closer and punched him square on the jaw. The burglar slumped to the ground, unconscious. Nightwing stood over him, observing him for several seconds.

“Now what did you mean about an ‘employer’?” he muttered.

“I see you haven’t lost your touch.” A feminine figure slinked out of the shadows. Nightwing tensed, but relaxed when he saw who it was.

“Batgirl?” he said in surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“Checking up on you,” she replied. “The semester starts next week, and I wasn’t going to let summer break pass without at least dropping in on my best friend.”

“Did Batman send you?”

Batgirl leveled a steady gaze at him.

“Fine,” Nightwing acquiesced. “Satisfied with what you see?”

“Yeah.” Batgirl flashed him a grin. “Clearly, you’re just as good as ever – in fact, I’d say you’ve gotten better, _Nightwing_.”

Nightwing couldn’t help a pleased smile. “You like the name, huh?”

“Yep. It’s a lot more sophisticated and mysterious than ‘Robin’. Taking a leaf out of Batman’s book, are we?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“I saw the way that guy reacted to you. If you’re not careful, people might end up being just as in awe of you as they are of Batman. Not that that’s a bad thing – I just thought you’d want to know.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” Nightwing was silent for a moment before he said, “So how’s Bruce doing these days?”

“Oh, he’s fine,” Batgirl responded nonchalantly. “Bit grumpy, though, to be honest – even for him.”

“Because I left?”

“No.” She turned more serious. “Because villains keep disappearing from their jail cells, and he can’t find them.”

Nightwing stared. “He can’t?” Since when had Batman not been able to locate a villain?

“They pop up in the last place you’d expect them to be and then – provided they’re not caught – they just disappear again.”

Nightwing’s brow creased. “What do you mean?”

“Well, let’s see…” Batgirl began ticking them off on her fingers. “Joker appeared in Central City in June, and no one’s seen him since; Harley Quinn surfaced in New York a week later – she was nabbed by the cops and shipped back to Gotham, but refuses to tell anyone where her boyfriend is; Killer Frost iced half the people in Austin before vanishing; Silver Banshee simply disappeared after escaping prison; and Copperhead and Cheetah seem to be in cahoots, making periodic appearances all over the country.”

“All of this in two months?” Nightwing asked incredulously.

“Yep,” Batgirl confirmed solemnly. “Something weird is going on.”

“This guy here was talking about an employer earlier.” Nightwing nudged his captive with his foot. “Think we’re looking at an organized crime team?”

“I really don’t know,” Batgirl admitted. “Even if it was, it would have had to start somewhere. Most of those villains were all locked up in high-security prisons. They would have needed at least a little help from someone on the outside in order to escape so thoroughly.”

“Batman’s investigating, I suppose?”

“Yeah, and I think he’s got Superman and the Flash keeping an eye out for suspicious activity too.”

Nightwing nodded. “I’ll let you know if I find anything. Right now, though, I have to get this guy to the police station.” He looked back at his friend. “It was good seeing you again, Barbara.”

“You too, Dick.” As swiftly as she had appeared, Batgirl vanished, leaving Nightwing pondering over the news as he lugged the burglar to jail.


End file.
